"You don't act your race/age/etc etc."
 

I was thinking about this since it was introduced a little in the have you been bullied before thread. I've heard many accounts of this and have gone through it myself.

Why does society or certain parts/certain members of society put emphasis on this? Also, have you experienced something like this?

For example, a lot of my friends say I "sound white". I'm equating it to the fact that I pronounce words how they're meant to be pronounced minus slang and such (well, I use an occasion slang word here and there). I've had both races say this about me. I was ridiculed about this growing up as a kid.

Like I said in the last thread, I get the same exact shit from people about the sounding white thing.

I believe the issue here is how people ultimately define their reality. Most people’s ‘reality’ is a systematic and mostly automatic association of objects in relation to some type of understanding that’s invoked within them. IE, with most people, saying ‘yo nigga tight this that’ is suppose to invoke the object of ‘black people.’

The dilemma rises when this association isn’t filled correctly. Since the average person couldn’t care less about the process of how and why, the only thing they are concerned about is, is the right object invoking the right understanding. If this doesn’t happen, they are lost, because they don’t understand the process. Things have to be clear cut for them, since they suck at thinking abstractly. For example, in order for them to understand, things have to blatant. IE:

Black People = ghetto talk
White people = proper talk
Asian people = ching chan talk

The less capable they are at thinking abstractly, the more their mind has to have blatant associations like this.

If you break that association, their mind has to work harder to comprehend a more foreign way of interpreting. And thus, they outwardly attack the object that’s making their mind work differently. In other words, they attack the black person that ‘sounds white.’ Or, the white person that ‘sounds black.’

I don't speak ching chan talk and I'm the most Asian person most of my friends know. Who are also Asian.

Oh man do I not act like an Asian! And oh MAN does my gf not act like an Aussie!

In high school, almost all of my subjects were not part of the "Asian 5" (English, Maths Methods, Specialist Maths, Chemistry, Physics"). I have an Aussie accent (not the nasal kind aka Steve Irwin). I prefer Nintendo than Sony (though I play both). I'm going out with a white, and prefer white girls. I play AFL (an Aussie footy game) and cricket rather than badminton. Is that not Asian or what?

Oh and I'm too mature for my age. That I'm actually proud of.

My girlfriend? The exact opposite. She don't act Aussie. She's smart and studious. She has an Asian accent. Her English is gooder than some fobs, but almost the same. She prefers Nintendo over Xbox (though plays both). She likes watching anime. She can speak mandarin and cantonese. She goes out with me (an Asian) and prefers Asian guys. Is that not Aussie or what?

Oh and she's too immature for her age. That she's actually proud of.

Many laughs. I guess thats why we go well together!

I smell a lot of bullshit in chaofan's post.



Silly asians. =P

If you don't believe, you don't have to. I'm not dodgy anyways (which is another un-Asian thing).

Haha, I'm just messing with you man. You're starting to sound like one of those self-hating asians.

He probably is. We have a lot of them running around this board.

Sup Megalith.

Oh, and I guess I get comments that I act much older than my age, and "post older" as well. Phsyically, I'm more mature, so that could have something to do with it, as well, but I really think I act more mature than some of the other kids my age.

How unfortunate. Well actually, I kind of find them funny. "I hate asians!!! But wait, I am one, but I TOTALLY don't act like it. Can I join the white race now please? Die Asians!!!"

Worst kind of racists ever...

I suppose I don't act my race. In elementary school, they kept putting me in ESL classes because I was hispanic. Problem was that I learned both English and Spanish while growing up, and never had a problem with either.

I also disassociated myself with all of the hispanic kids while in school. I'm not sure why, but I just never liked most of them. However all of them pretty much hated me for it later on, because I wasn't acting my 'race'. It really was pathetic.

In my opinion, it's these type of people that continue to advance racism. It's not other people calling you a nigger, or anything. It's that they can't accept the fact that you're just another person that happens to have a darker skin color. My skin doesn't predispose me to have a shitty hispanic slang, and only like a certain type of music.

Any self race deprecating person is. I just always find it hilarious that they hate their "asianness", but usually has a hard-on for anything Japanese.

Note. Bleach. Sig. And I'd add Spatula on that list.

You'd be surprised at the shocked looks I get when I open my mouth and out comes English the way it's suppose to be said, not garbage ebonics.

Er... I don't hate Asians. I was just raised in Australia and I just act Australian. Nothing to do with me hating Asians.

As for my girlfriend, she doesn't hate being Aussie. She just grew up with a lot of Asian influences (friends etc.)

Which describes chaofan EXACTLY. Oh how easy it is to read some people.

Chaofan: "I don't act asian at all, but I have an anime avatar and have a long list of asian stuff in my sig! P.S. I don't act asian at all!"


lame

-_-' I don't act Asian but I still have an Asian personality... My morals and values are all Asian. My interests are all Asian. It's just when I talk and socialise, I act Aussie. Gee -_-' If I known I would've had people thinking I hate Asians I wouldn't have posted -_-

Then you're Asian Australian. Except maybe your real ethnicity is Chinese or Vietnamese or some "garbage" Asian category, not an awesome Asian like Japanese or Korean which are so much more desirable.

Just liking Japanese anime and music doesn't give you a default "I'm totally proud of my ethnicity" card. And I don't think anyone here thinks you hate Asians, just that you wish you weren't one.

I'm totally proud of my ethnicity cause I'm proud of who I am among this "white" Australia. And I'm glad I'm Asian because of the values and stuff we hold. Dude if I wished I wasn't one I'd dye my hair blonde and get blue contacts (and I actually know someone who does that).

BTW, I'm Taiwanese. Also, what do you have against "garbage" Chinese/Viets anyway?

Believe me, I know the feeling.

I don't understand why it should be a shock. There are people in this world that aren't white that can speak just as good. What's the big deal with all the looks? It's annoying. Sometimes I feel like letting out some ebonics just to get on their nerves, but I would be playing right into their hands.

I don't. I was being ironic.

Different Asian cultures hold different values. My family's Chinese values are different than Japanese values and I'm only proud of mine. So by saying you're proud of Asian values doesn't bode well to your attachment to your culture.

Whatever, it's your life, it doesn't concern me. I'm just calling it how I see it.

Oh, well I apologize for not being specific. I uphold my Taiwanese values and am proud of them. That better?

For the sake of this thread, my friends comment on how I'm too mature for my age. That came from depression and me having to look after my bro as the elder sibling.

I get the "You don't act your age" one a lot. I look younger than I really am, so people tend to be surprised when I begin discussing things that wouldn't seem fitting for my appearance.

Another one is "You don't act like a smart person." Although silly, I got this one a lot during high school for various reasons.

funny thing about me is that people don't say anything about me, because of my white skin, and once they learn I'm Mexican they say I don't look Mexican and then they accuse me of not acting like I am...

That was in the beginning. Now people just leave me alone while I listen to my rock music. :edgarrock:

I ALWAYS get the "omg, you don't look your age at all!". It's beginning to get annoying because people are still asking me when I'm graduating from high school. I usually say something along the lines of "nine years ago"...

Also, how does a smart person act? There's lots of brilliant serial killers running around here. So, should you be acting like them? :p

That's quite a difference.

I think my classmates in high school were mainly referring to the fact that I never enjoyed reading or "getting to know" the teachers, like some of the other top students did.

Another one that comes to mind is that people always assumed I was naturally gifted at math simply because of being Asian.

People really shouldn't make assumptions like that. Being black, I'm expected to dress like I walked out of a rap video and I don't. I think it confuses some people, which I really don't care.

I'm filipino, but I'm far from it in everyday life.
I don't speak tagalog at all, and I've never hung out with any of the filipinos at my old high school.
I look pretty young for my age, and people don't think I'm in university (still 17 for a while, but it's a one year difference only!)
People always think that I like Science because I was one of the smart ones, but I actually hate Science and love Music. I get very surprised reactions when I say I'm in Commerce, because apparently I'm "not that kind of person."

Well that's because they're ignorant. Asians are obviously gifted at martial arts, not math. <.<

I look young for my age. It's because I've inhereted a lot of my mom's genes. She told me a story that when I was about 4 years old, she'd take me grocery shopping etc, and the one time the clerk said that it was nice for her to take her younger brother out shopping with her. She replied "I'm his mother!" (wish I would've been old enough to remember it happen hahah).

But yea, I'm 22 and get carded for R rated movies & M rated videogames.

When I was small, I was said to be acting older than I was and because of that I started to act as childish as I could <_<

But a classmate of mine who goes on holiday to the USA every year always tells me that ALL(!) african americans talked ghetto language .
He once even told me that you had to say "I'd like a cap of caffee" instead "I'd like a cup of coffee" in a restaurant if the waiter/waitress was black because they otherwise wouldn't understand it <_<
Besides, he always speaks of his "inner nigger" and that he had the wrong skin colour and should be living in the US (while listening to some hip hop of course)
If I'd show him the posts of some people here who say they're black and don't talk ghetto language he'd say I'd faked the posts myself *cough*

I get carded constantly whenever purchasing a game or even seeing an R-rated movie. It's amusing because when I was 17, they never carded me. Years later, it seems that people always want to check my ID.

Well, tell him to talk to me. I think that's stupid to believe all black people only understand garbage. Hell, I'm black and I can't even understand half of that garbage! It annoys me to no end to know there's people out here that are too lazy to learn how to sound out words and phrases correctly. It doesn't help that rap videos play on this garbage as well.

Like I said, if he wants to talk to someone that is black and speaks properly, tell him to IM me. My AIM's in my profile.

The only time in my life I got carded for a movie was when I was 24 and I was trying to see an Eddie Griffin movie. To make matters worse, I couldn't find my driver's license for five minutes and the surrounding kids were laughing at me... :(

I get told all the time I look like I'm between the ages of 18 and 22. I once had some weirdo tell me I was 16... I suppose looking young is a good thing. That means people like us will age gracefully! :)

Women don't age. I came to that conclusion when I had the hots for this woman who looked like she was in her early 20s and come to find out she was 50.

I act my age sometimes :p when I want to be serious. My parents used to spit that line to me often, especially my mom. And I look older than my age.

This was always a weird issue for me growing up, especially racially speaking. I'm mixed race (Half Scottish, half Iranian) so it was always a bit strange. Like people were saying, there are so many stereotypes and opinions on how a certain race "should act".

The difference with me was, I don't fit into any of the categories. And at first that may seem like a good thing, because it allows to me to have some choice without being scrutinized for it, it wasn't always a good thing.

See, people get uncomfortable when they cant pigeon-hole you, so it was like no matter what I did, someone wasn't going to be happy with it. I act pretty much like any other western person does - but whenever I did something that was "different" people would make fun of me for it.

And then at home on the other hand, my father's side of the family would act like by being your typical western kid (not speaking their language, not eating their food etc) I was denying my Iranian heritage.

So it was always like no matter what you do, you're going to upset someone. It's not so much a problem any more, I dont know what happened but as I got older it became less apparent that I had foreign roots (infact it was only really my name that gives it away) so I dont get any hassel from "white" people anymore. However my dad's side of the family are very culture-heavy so I still get hassel from them!

That's pretty funny. When I was about 15, I went to a party with my oldest sister and all the workers there said, "it's so nice to meet your husband." And now at school, the students who don't know me think I'm a sophmore when I'm actually a senior.



So, what's your name? Is it the last name or first name that gives it away?

'Harold and Kumar go the White Castle' had some amusing quips about not 'acting your race'. Plus, it's a funny movie outside of that as well. Certainly immature, but quite entertaining.

Yea, I never used to get carded either. I guess it really is a sign that companies are enforcing ratings a lot more then they used to. At this point I'm actually more surprised when I don't get carded.

Uh... I'm black, but white people say that I'm white. I don't quite understand this myself, but hey... whatever. Also, someone assumed that I was still a teenager the other day. they assumed I was 15. grrr...

Sometimes people will think my fifteen-year-old brother looks older than me. That usually depends on my hair situation (if I got a haircut, or if I have it going crazy... also if I shaved/how I shaved, like letting my goatee grow out). I'm 21. I'm short for my age (5 foot, yo).

Strangely enough, though, I usually don't get carded for movies or anything (probably also since I whoop out my college ID for the student discount anyway). I usually don't get carded either when ordering drinks at a restaurant. I only get asked for ID typically when I should, like when making a beer run or something.

I guess it all depends with who I hang out with. I look older when I'm with the college heads, and just as young if with the teen crowd.

Yeah, I hear you.

Being black, a lot is expected of me in a stereotypical way. This bothers me. I am happy with who I am, but other people aren't, which sometimes makes me wish that I were white. Not because I sincerely wish for it, but rather for the sake of acceptance.

Honestly, I've been ridiculed for listening to jazz. And black people made jazz. ???:confused:???

That's weird that you get ridiculed for listening to jazz. I'm told that's the thing with black folks (not I). I'm used to listening to the polar opposite of all the music I'm "supposed" to be listening. I used to care about fitting in somewhere, but then I realized I couldn't and stopped caring. I figured if I'm going to be different, I should just go ahead and be different all the way.

Because I don't follow trends, I'm ridiculed, but I pay it no attention. And with my music, if people start critizing it, on goes the headphones and I can't hear anymore BS. You should try it, it works. :)

I used to get this a lot when I was younger. Growing up a military brat and having two college educated parents I've always been told by "black" kids that I sounded and acted white. It also didn't help that I have a love of Asian culture, listened to more than just rap music, and could out argue anyone in my class.

It used to bother me that being able to speak eloquently, write correctly (maybe not the best grammar ever but at least I can construct a paragraph with easily understood points), and being intelligent were "white" traits.

I remember middle school, my first non-DoD public school experience, being hell for that reason alone. Eventually, after growing more secure in my personailty, I started to let it roll off my back and appreciate who I was.

And I haven't been bothered again. I'm proud to be more than just another "ghetto" African-American.

Oh wow! It's great to see that I'm not the only black person going through crap like this alone! Wow!

Okay... my hellish weekend is over and I'm going back through all the threads I've missed... and I seem to have missed quite a few that I am going to comment in... like this one ^_^


Not acting my age... yeah... that's me. And I guess at times I don't even look my age (which I take as a good sign I guess).
My home is surrounded by toys... my toy... I am Toys 'R Us in a much smaller scale. I like my toys. Even kids are jealous of some the toys I have ^_^
But I like that part of me... it's the child within me that doesn't want to disappear and be taken over by the adult in me. I still have my responsibilities... but I also know that being an adult all the time isn't exactly going to keep me sane all thetime either.

And as for not looking my age... when I am clean-shaven... and the grey hairs have been well hidden by various dyes... yeah... ID'd for bloody cigarettes. O_o
Fifteen years too late bud... try again...
I do find it somewhat complimentary to get ID'd for alcohol... but insulting for smokes... go figure. I do recall getting ID'd a few years back even when I was picking up some M-rated game... was shocked.. but glad to see that system in place at that store and actually being followed. ^_^

eh, Asians put more emphasis on tradition anyway.

Anyway, I get that crap that "You don't act your age" and a complimentary statement of "You look older". Seriously, one woman thought I was 27 (when I'm 6 years younger than that) and my loved ones thought that I waste too much time playing videogames.

And oh, they're all asian like me and grew up in rural conditions so I don't blame them. It's just that sometimes their perspective is limited.

Or they are thinking for my benefit.

I sometimes enjoy playing video games. Thus, in the eyes of most girls I meet, I don't act my age because video games are for little children.

As far as not acting my ethnicity? I'm too much of a mix of different things to act one way. I act myself and don't get shit for it ever. I dunno.

And the whole "not acting black" thing reminds me of a white person trying to act "Black". Everyone gets shit for it. White people acting 'black' and black people acting 'white'. Usually they all get fucked with for whatever reason but I've noticed more people admire a black person acting 'white' then a white person acting 'black'. I suppose it's because most people in charge of big companies and jobs and such are all pretty civil unlike the ghetto trash around (white or black).

I'm not saying I'm right, It's just a hunch I have. Everyone should just act themselves and not worry about how other people view them but I suppose that everyone worries a little bit about how they're percieved.

I find it funny when people tell me that I don't act black. My question to them is "well, what do I act like?". So far that question hasn't been answered. So, now I'm a no-race... :(

This reminds me of what we discussed in Linguistics class today. Apparently, people were surprised after hearing a voice clip that the man was black. Our prof. thought it sounded like your average white Southern Gentleman, but some people clearly stated: "I could tell he was black from the way he spoke."

People generally think I'm younger than I am (short hair takes years off my appearance) until they start talking to me, at which point they think I'm older. It'd be nice if they'd just take the mean and go with it.

And then I get confused for my father on the phone, which is kinda creepy. Devo's right though, and I personally attribute my "well-travelled" persona to the four siblings 10-25 years older than me.

I work in a grocery store deli and a while ago I had a guy come up to me and upon seeing my name tag (Evgeniy), asked if the name was Russian. I told him, yeah, I'm from there. He then said something like "Oh, you don't look Russian." I don't know, just the way he said it sounded almost like being Russian was a bad thing.

In my earlier post, I only commented about my age situations. I'll talk about my race now.

I'm Filipino. There's a pretty decently huge Filipino community in my area, but I do feel disconnected with them. I don't really hang out with them as much, and even at school, I'm found more with the other races. My apartment alones features me (Filipino) as well as a Chinese, a Korean, and a nigga. I'm also the only Filipino computer engineer undergraduate at my school (though there are 2 other electrical engineers).

And while I've been an active member of my university's Filipino Cultural Association (I'm currently vice president), I still don't hang out with them a lot. The senior Filipino class is actually not very-well bonded, though I find that kinda cool because we're all doing our own thing.

Meh. I still want the flag here.

You mean like stereotypes? Since I'm a minority, I get that a lot. Are you Chinese? Is your major in engineering? Pre-med? Do you play a stringed instrument like the violin? Do you know karate? You look like so and so. You all look the same. Blah blah blah.

I'm asian, and I don't speak like a fob, or act like some viet gansta who thinks he's hot with all the chicks.
I act cocky a lot of the time though.

I have an aussie accent, and I dress 'normally'.
In school, I did all the 'asian' subjects that chaofan mentioned. But now I do arts and media at Uni. Go figure.
I played cricket for a while, too.

The only other 'stereotypically' asian I do, is that I do martial arts.

A lot of the girls that I give lifts to seem a tad disappointed with my car. I actually DO act like an aZn hothead sometimes, and they expect my car to be all riced up. I'm getting along well with them, then they see my car, and you can SEE IN THE FACE that their opinion of me just went down.

One of the things I hate most is when all the honkie people act all so proud when they go 'back' to Hong Kong every year.
They seem proud because then they can go shopping for all the latest mobile phones, home entertainment, movies, electronics and trendy clothes at CHEAP PRICES, just so they can come back here and brag to everyone about their purchases.

One Honkie dude I know is a fuckin rich cunt. He got about AUS$7000 for lucky money at new years this year. He travels back to HK every year, wears expensive clothes and jewellery that he buys there, and bought himself a brand new Audi recently.
And he claims that he's POOR.
I hate him for that.

As for going 'back' to Vietnam.....
you're only gonna go there to go clubbing (because of the no age limit), and how most of the girls there are absolute sluts. A cousin of mine (had never met her before), was showing me around all the clubs around the area, and she's 14! WTF, seriously. I totally did not expect that. And she goes clubbing every weekend. =/
Then you've got the massage parlours.
hmmm.

As for my age, I totally don't act like a 'responsible' 20 year old at all. lol.
There are way too many of friends getting professional careers ALREADY, and my parents tell me to be more like them. Geez....
I act like a kid, pretty much. Random, hyper, does stupid things.....

Well my name's Kev so not really - but it's spelt kevon. And my surname is Hayati - so I think it's safe to say it's my last name that gave it away! It was always one of those things I would dread at school, when the teacher would say "Hayati... that's an interesting name, where is that from?" and then everyone would stare

Well, I think that is awesome. Hayati. Cool cool.
See, I like my name, but sometimes I get made fun from having it. It's Jorge. Not GEORGE, so then people say, HOR-HEY. Get's annoying.

Talking about getting names messed up, it seems as though a lot of people can't say my name correctly. I've literally had certain people say my name in a way that makes it sound more of something of their own race. It's annoying. Has anybody else ever had this?

Somewhat. No one ever wants to spell my name as Sean. It's almost always phonetic to people--Shawn. I believe that I"m now to the point where my name is really "Sean. S. E. A. N." whenever someone is asking it and is writing it down. What's really weird is that in elementry school, I spent three or four years with teachers actually having to spend a few days trying to be able to pronounce it. I absolutley hate it when it's pronounced "seen" or "see ann" or something else. I also was told by my peers all the time that my spelling of the name was really the one given to girls, despite my efforts in telling them that my name is in fact the Irish word for John. Funny, because these same fuckers never had a problem with Sean Connery's name. Fuckin' twats.

My last name isn't really any better. I can't even begin to think what language Matoon even originates, and no one can spell that worth their lives, no mater how clearly I pronounce it.

Why couldn't my mother just stuck with her Nordic roots and named me something in Norwegian? :dotdotdot:

I act how proper English people act, instead of the stereotype the rest of the world has of us. For instance, the accent is a major point. In non-English films it's always insanely posh, and usually the way they are portrayed is far less, well, gritty than how we really are.

As for age, I guess I act about my age. I can be childish at times, but then so can everyone. A few people have said I am quite mature, but not enough to convince me heh.

Most people think that I look and act 25-ish, but I'm 20. Of course, people have been saying that since I was in 7th grade -- when they thought I was in high school, and when I was in high school, they thought I was in college.

I suppose it has something to do with the fact that I'm an only child and I read a lot of 'good literature,' so I tend to act older. And I'm fairly reserved and polite, as a person (although I like stupid/silly shit). Post-wise, I don't think I come off as older or anything, but how should I know.

'Cause then you probably would have ended up with something scary, like "Øyvind." Then it would have been even more fun to spell out to people.
Island of victory/wind or something similar is the meaning...

Yeah... I sometimes get that... People say I don't act my age and they usually think I'm 26 while I'm only 20.
I listen to jazz and swing and when talking to people I look them in the eye wich is something rare on people my age.

How is looking people in the eye rare? Is it rare where you live?

Now that would have been cool.

How do you even say something like that?

People in HS would say that have more white blood in me than black, which I kinda accepted after a while. I guess it was partly due to the fact that I was always the shy one that didn't like most rap music, (unless it was the good, soft kind, and not any of that hardcore stuff,) and pretty much didn't fall into the steryotypical mold of how we're supposed to act, live, or whatever. (At least how it's seen in my neighborhood, not in black culture all together.)
I'm more attuned to Jazz, classical, some pop, even fewer rock (nothing hard), some J-pop, and I have a strong love for VGM (Video Game Music).

My peers refer to me as the most mature in my group...I don't know if that says much XP

I think the people who would say "You don't sound <race>" are the biggest, most prejudiced racists there are. They deny the possibility for a <race> person to be how he or she wants to be, and say that you have to be how society wants you to be instead. That's so very wrong.

Racism might not be their intention, but a racist manifesto is what they are expressing. If a black person wants to use ebonics, that's their choice. If they want to speak in perfectly formed grammatical sentances, that too is their choice. How you act should never be constrained by your race, any more than the opportunities you get in life should be.

Yeah... when I act all crazy they think I'm kiddy not my age, I myself drop my age about 10 years during those times. I can't count how many "second childhoods" I've had.

Whoops, had a double-post issue when the website didn't load after I tried posting it the first time. Disregard this post as it wasn't intentional. ^^;

not really... let's see... I've gone into studying like a metallurgy degree, even though I really wanted to study music (and though my mum wanted me in Pharmacy =_=") I've got an aussie accent, considering I was born here... I only just found out that I'm of mixed heritage, still doesn't matter to me... I dress like any other person, not the stereotypical AzN gansta shit you get hanging around town and stuff (even though, my hair is long... but, it's the only way I can look older... I swear if I have my hair spiked up, and short, they bloody say I look like I'm 15 =_=") If in usual situations, if I'm hanging with my mates and stuff, we all act like as if we were still highschool students... but I guess, I can act mature if I need to (eg. speaking to adults or unfamiliar persons :P)

Same here. I either act too old for my age or way too young for my age. When it comes to school and serious issues, I act a lot older than most people. When it comes to having fun and relaxing (or talking about my problems) I act younger (maybe teen younger...silly angst years).

People still say that I look about three or four years younger than I am. I am normally the oldest person in a group of friends, but I'm the one that either has their ID checked, or if everyone has their ID checked, I'm the only one they ever do a triple-take on. If I were to wear my hair in a ponytail, people would swear that I was 14.

Since most of my friends were too busy getting high, laid, and/or paid during high school, I like to act like a high school student whenever I hang out with friends now. It annoys them since they want to be all "I'm college so let's sit around and critique Bach and Amadeus while sipping steaming hot latte's" while I'm all "Let's go out and drive around and watch movies and eat out and throw condom balloons at the President's car! EEEEEEEEEE!" Ok, maybe not the last part, but it would be fun.

Amen, Brother! Now, would you mind convincing some of these idiots I live around that it's OK to look and act intelligent? :) But seriously, it is annoying when people keep accusing me of sounding "white". Just how does one sound any race anyway?

I'm damned if I know, but this fucking annoying shit popped up on another forum I go to just last week. This asshole of a teenager got on his high horse telling these two (pretty cool) girls that they "act white", in a discussion about the use of ebonics. They both are black, in case it's not clear. He made it into this whole debate about how they apparently need to act blacker, if they expect to get respect from him. Fortunately, asshole got banned.

The interesting thing is that I never knew that one of them was. That's how it should be on the net. People are all the same, when you can't see or hear them, right? Not according to our friend. He thinks that if you don't talk (and type) that way, then you must be ashamed, or something.

I get accused of not acting black a lot. Trust me, it gets on my nerves. I actually asked some fool one day, "alright, then how does a black person act?" and basically dared her to say some stupid crap to me. She had nothing to say.

I agree with you that people are all the same. It's annoying when people try to separate each by race like that. I don't know what's worse, black people telling me I act white like I'm some sort of traitor or other people telling me I don't act black enough. What is enough? I would love to know the answer to that.

You're not special, unique or different if you don't act your age. Most people don't. You would think that, by having a bunch of friends who are so mature for 16, you'd notice! But you don't.

Stereotypes exist for other people, not for yourself. Christ. Look, it's more significant if you had a stereotype for a demographic* that was different than other people's stereotype for that demographic. These sorts of threads only exist for preening about yourself while insinuating other people need to expand their horizons, anyway.

* that you didn't belong to. Do I need to tell you this?

You're entitled to your opinion.

Anyway, I'd like to know what is enough still.

Why do you want me to answer for someone else's stereotypes? I don't know you and I don't care about you.

But while we're at it, tell me how I'm wrong. Or is your group of friends both online and off an oasis of unique in a sea of conformity? How can it be that so many people tell you how they defy stereotypes, yet you think this is important somehow?

Because I want to know why people think this way.

If you're not asking me directly, why did you ask me directly?

I'm constantly accused of not acting like a proper nerd, who sits online all day long waiting for someone to stroke my ego or whine when they don't. Too bad Miyomi can't say the same.

Like hell you are. Nowadays, the proper nerd browses 4chan while waiting for ego-stroking. The hypernerds of the future are here today.

Miyomi. Stop acting like a child and closing the thread because you don't like where the conversation is going. Un-doing moderator action is grounds for a warning, so consider this one.

lol someone who shares my pain :P I swear, going into clubs and bars... they ask immediately, "ID please" =_=" while my friends go in without a hitch... not to mention one of them is underage lol... but anyways...

well why not just keep acting young? :P It's more fun to act like that sometimes... I mean, my mates don't really give a shit sometimes, and we act so immature :D but it's all bloody fun with them :lolsign:

I love looking and acting young b/c I know that while they're worried about putting on make-up and getting tans I'll sit back and think, "Just wait until we're all 40 and I still look 30". I like to act young, but most of my female friends (when I can pry them away from their boyfriends) sort of sneer because they want to act all grown up. So what if I like cartoons and driving to the nearest soda fountain rather than getting pedicures and talking about what someone was wearing on a cover of Vogue.

People expect others to act like a stereotype for a very simple reason. The majority of the general public are pretty much mindless sheep who can't think for themself. They can't grasp that concept let alone the fact that someone else doesn't fit into that category and wants to better themself.

If I was black and other black people yelled at me for not using Ghetto talk, I'd tell them to enjoy working at McDonald's for the rest of their life while I actually try to move up in the world.

And for the people who say that people think they're younger then they are, you should be happy. For the most part being younger = being better looking. It's alot better then the otherway around. I was incredibly insulted when I as 22 and a girl thought I was in my 30s...

Do these two sentences look right to you?

I am glad for it, but the only people that think I'm better looking are on-line. The guys in my region of the U.S. go for women that look older than they really are (stupid media).

Actually, something worse than not acting the age/race/etc. is when you do act it to see if people notice, they ignore you. Then, when you go back to being yourself, they ask you why you never even try to act that way. It mostly comes up with me when I have to get dressed up and look like some of the girls on the cover of Premiere or Vogue or something (like when I wrote an article on the college equivalent of prom). I'll dress up for a special presentation or something and no one will notice. Then, when I go back to my jeans and T-shirt, everyone begins to complain about why I never dress like a girl.